Biography of Edward Hampton Sutterfield

EDWARD HAMPTON SUTTERFIELD. This gentleman is the capable surveyor of Reynolds County, but his usual occupations are farming and stockraising, in following which he has met with more than ordinary success and has accumulated a competency. He owes his nativity to White County, Tennessee, where he first saw the light of day in 1830, a son of William and Dovie (Tap-ley) Sutterfield, who were also born in Tennessee in 1800 and 1810, respectively, and there made their home until 1840, when they came by wagon to what is now Reynolds County and located on a woodland tract on the west fork of the Black River, at which time but three or four settlements had been made on the creek. Mr. Sutterfield was a gunsmith, blacksmith and farmer, but lived only about one year after locating in Missouri. He was a Mason, and politically a Democrat. His father, Edward Sutterfield, came from Tennessee to what is now Reynolds County in 1839, and died here in 1849, his birth having occurred in old Virginia. He was of English ancestry, was a soldier of the Revolution, and afterward gave his attention to the peaceful pursuit of farming. The maternal grandfather, Tapley, was also a soldier of the Revolution, was a farmer by occupation, and passed from life in Tennessee. The wife of William Sutterfield remained a widow for thirty-seven years, and died in 1877, a member of the Missionary Baptist Church. She was a noble self-sacrificing woman and reared her children to honorable manhood and womanhood in a wild and unsettled country, without the aid of anyone. Their names are as follows: Allen was for some years district judge of this county; John died in childhood; Edward Hampton; James, a resident of this county; Elizabeth, who became the wife of Samuel Black, and is now dead; Alzada is the widow of William Riley Radford, and Matilda, who is the wife of James Davis.

From the time he was ten years old Edward Hampton Sutterfield has been a resident of Reynolds County, and owing to the extreme scarcity of schools in his boy-hood days, he received but little education. Game was very abundant for many years after their location here and Edward became quite skillful in the use the rifle and was very fond of the sport. He was married in 1851 to Elizabeth, the daughter of Lidlebery and Nancy Vest, natives of Virginia, in which State they were reared and married and from where they came to Missouri, it is supposed, about seventy years ago. They lived for some time in Crawford County, then for some time on Iron Mountain, where Mrs. Vest died. Mr. Vest was a laborer on public works and died at Bellevue.

Mrs. Sutterfield was born in Crawford County, Missouri, and her union with Mr. Sutterfield has resulted in the birth of twelve children: Alzada, wife of George Brown; Patsey, wife of Amos Plymale; James F.; Telitha, wife of A. R. Anderson; George Washington; Sarah, wife of James Byrd; Henry L ; Nancy, wife of Greene Gilson; Thomas J.; Clara, wife of Samuel Strickland, of Iron County; Frances, wife of Jefferson Gibson, of St. Francois County, Missouri, and Elijah M. Mr. Sutterfield served for a time in Marmaduke’s command during the Civil War, and was on the Price raid and was also with Gen. Thompson for a time in southeast Missouri. While at his home he was captured, at one time, and from December until February, 1863, he was kept a prisoner at Ironton. After the war he lived on Bee Fork until 1871, and since that time on his present farm of 161 acres on West Fork. This land is fertile, and under Mr. Sutterfield’s able management yields large crops, annually. He has served as justice of the peace four years, and with the exception of eight years he has served as county surveyor ever since the war closed, being elected to this position six different times. He is very familiar with every part of Reynolds County, and also many of the adjoining counties. He is a member of Reynolds Lodge No. 385, of the A. F. & A. M., at Centerville; has been a lifelong Democrat, and he and his wife are members in good standing of the Missionary Baptist Church. In his boyhood days he and his brothers were obliged to go with ox teams to St. Louis to market, and in order to obtain flour or meal would often ride a steer fifteen or twenty miles to mill. Schoolhouses with a dirt floor, slab seats and greased paper window-lights were a luxury, and many times he and his brothers were called up in the dead of night to frighten away the prowling bear or wolf that was endeavoring to carry off their stock. Many of such incidents he well remembers and he recounts them with interest. He often compares that time with the present, and it must be confessed not always to the advantage of the latter.

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A Reminiscent History of the Ozark Region: comprising a condensed general history, a brief descriptive history of each county, and numerous biographical sketches of prominent citizens of such counties. Chicago: Goodspeed Brothers Publishers. 1894.